Learn about the base colors of eumelanin. Eumelanin is the dark type of pigment we see in canine coat colors. The most common color is the “wild type” black. However, eumelanin can be modified to other base colors, namely brown, blue, and lilac. We call them “base colors“, because they determine the darkest possible shade … Read more
Dogs with just one copy of a saddle pattern often express creeping tan. This is a pattern with bigger-than-average tan markings that are not yet large enough to qualify as classic saddle tan. What Is Creeping Tan? Creeping tan is a pattern with both eumelanin and phaeomelanin. Dogs express an extended black saddle area with … Read more
The term “black & tan” usually refers to a black-based tan point pattern. Dogs with this pattern have a black coat with tan markings on their eyebrows, cheeks, chest, and undersides. Tan Point Colors Dogs need to be able to express their tan point allele (some use the new allele label ASIPBB or BB for at). They have … Read more
Blue sable dogs have a sable pattern with diluted black eumelanin. They have a phaeomelanic base color with varying amounts of blue hair tipping, mostly concentrated along their upper body. Sable Colors Dogs need to be able to express their sable allele (we shortened the new allele names ASIPDY and ASIPSY to Ay). They have to be ky/ky combined with either a mask Em/- or … Read more
Chocolate sable dogs have a sable pattern with brown eumelanin. They have a phaeomelanic base color with varying amounts of brown hair tipping mostly concentrated along their upper body. Sable Colors Dogs need to be able to express their sable allele (we shortened the new allele names ASIPDY and ASIPSY to Ay). They have to be ky/ky combined with either a mask Em/- or a … Read more
Lilac sable dogs have a sable pattern with diluted brown eumelanin. They have a phaeomelanic yellow to red base color with some amount of lilac-tipped hairs on their upper body. Sable Colors Dogs need to be able to express their sable allele (we shortened the new allele names ASIPDY and ASIPSY to Ay). They have to be ky/ky combined with either a mask Em/- … Read more
Dogs with a black-based sable pattern have a predominantly tan coat with some amount of black-tipped hairs along their upper body. Their sabling can be sparse or heavy. Sable Colors Dogs need to be able to express their sable allele (we shortened the new allele names ASIPDY and ASIPSY to Ay). They have to be ky/ky combined with either a mask Em/- or a wild type allele E/-. … Read more
Sable merle can be very striking in young puppies, but merle can be difficult to spot or even “hidden” in adult dogs with a sable pattern. That is because most merle alleles can only affect eumelanin. And many adult sable dogs don’t have a lot of eumelanin in their pattern. The Sable Pattern To understand … Read more
Residual white describes any minor white pattern. Typical markings include a small white patch on the chest, white toes, or a tiny bit of white on the muzzle or forehead. The white pattern is caused by incomplete pigmentation of the coat at birth. Small white markings like these may shrink or disappear as pigment continues … Read more
Let’s talk about tan markings on puppies. There seems to be some confusion about which patterns come with tan points or how to recognize agouti, sable, or tan point patterns in puppies. The tan points in a black and tan pattern (at/-) are the defined clear phaeomelanin markings on the cheeks, chin, throat, forechest, lower … Read more